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KRISTEN MULLEN/Staff Photographer
A Wilkes-Barre police officer takes a photo of a bullet hole in the front windshield of a car at the scene of a shooting on McLean Street in Wilkes-Barre.

WILKES-BARRE - A shooting injured a 19-year-old Saturday when a Hazleton used-car dealer confronted and shot at three men driving a stolen luxury car, police said.

Franklin Jimenez Marte Ruiz of Wilkes-Barre suffered lacerations to his face when a bullet crashed through the windshield and sent shards of glass flying, Wilkes-Barre Sgt. Jim Sheridan said. Ruiz's injuries were not life-threatening.

"We're trying to sort it out," said Sheridan, who added three people were in custody. "Everybody claims the other had a gun. It's under investigation."

Joseph Rabo, 32, the owner of Auto Extreme Limited, allegedly fired the shots after tracking down and confronting Ruiz, 18-year-old Jeffrey M. Delacruz and an unidentified man who was driving the vehicle. The men were riding in a black Acura RL that had been stolen from Rabo's lot in Hazleton, police said. Police would not disclose how Rabo traced the car to the men.

According to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility's Records Department, Ruiz was charged with receiving stolen property. Delacruz, of Peace Street in Hazleton, was charged with two counts of receiving stolen property. Ruiz and Delacruz were arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Joseph Carmody on Sunday. As of Monday night, they were still jailed after failing to post bail. Rabo was arraigned by Carmody and charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and carrying a loaded weapon, according to the Records Department. A prison official said Rabo was not in custody on Monday, and an employee at Rabo's car lot said he posted bail.

On Monday, employees at Auto Extreme Limited were altering the vehicles, making them more difficult to steal. Some vehicles' wheels were removed, and the vehicles were used as a barrier to protect the store's stock.

"This guy's livelihood is at stake," said an employee who declined to give his name. "It's disappointing. It's upsetting."

According to Wilkes-Barre police, Rabo confronted the men at 4:45 p.m. Saturday on McLean Street in the city. He was approaching the car when, according to Rabo, the driver displayed a handgun. Rabo pulled out his own handgun and opened fire.

One bullet pierced the hood above the driver-side head light while the other crashed through the windshield, missing the unidentified driver and Delacruz and shattering the glass that lacerated Ruiz's face. The driver swerved to avoid the shots, ricochetting off one curb and into another, police said. When the car stopped, the men fled.

"All you heard was two pops and then you heard the crash," said a neighbor, who did not want to be identified. "There weren't any passengers, but when I came outside I saw the doors open and the engine was still running."

After shooting at the car, Rabo sped from the scene before being taken into custody at the Blackman Street Laundromat several blocks away, police said. Meanwhile, Ruiz and Delacruz jumped a 6-foot-tall fence into the backyard of Jeff Nealon's home at 406 Andover St. The driver got away on foot.

Nealon said both were frightened and blood oozed from the corner of Ruiz's eye and cheek.

"You could tell he had five or six spots that he was bleeding from," Nealon said. "It looked like shotgun pellets."

The men didn't tell him what had taken place, but they were nervous as they waited for an ambulance and police to arrive, Nealon said. During the entire incident, Nealon did not let the men inside his house, he said.

"I walked them around the side of the house and set them on the front steps until the cops came," Nealon said. "I'd be nervous and scared, too, if I got shot."

The shooting was a culmination of a frustrating two weeks for Rabo. On July 25, all the keys to cars on his lot, located at 1146 W. 15th St. in Hazleton, were stolen, along with a black Nissan 350Z sports car. Besides making off with keys and a car, the thieves smashed outside lights and motion sensors, ripped down one surveillance camera, and directed another camera away from the lot. After the theft, Rabo offered a $1,000 reward.

According to the employee at the lot, thieves struck again Aug. 7, stealing a van and the Acura RL involved in the Wilkes-Barre incident.

Police would not comment on how the trio came to be in possession of the car or if they were involved in the initial theft.

Ruiz was transported to Geisigner Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township for treatment, while Delacruz was transported to police headquarters. Ruiz was not listed as a patient at the medical center on Monday.

mharris@citizensvoice.com, bwellock@standardspeaker.com

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